Exclusive: Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers says 'one of the best managers in the world' Unai Emery similar to Pep Guardiola
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Updated 21/12/2024 at 09:39 GMT
Having cut his teeth in the Manchester City academy system, Morgan Rogers is now thriving at Aston Villa. Ahead of a Saturday lunchtime showdown with his former side, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, the 22-year-old has been speaking about his development, what he learned from Pep Guardiola, and how current boss Unai Emery compares to the City chief.
Rogers lauds ‘demanding’ Emery for transforming him as a player, explains similarities to Guardiola
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Morgan Rogers has described Unai Emery as "one of the best managers in the world" and likened the Aston Villa boss to Pep Guardiola.
Rogers, one of Villa’s star players this season, came through the Manchester City academy and will face his former club when the champions travel to Villa Park in the Premier League live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
The 22-year-old, who has enjoyed a whirlwind 2024 to establish himself in the Villa team, paid tribute to his current manager, noting the similarities between Emery and ex-boss Guardiola in their approaches.
"Him and Pep are kind of similar in a way," Rogers said in an exclusive interview with TNT Sports. "In terms of the way they structure their teams, in terms of the way that they're so demanding of you, structurally and tactically.
"But obviously working closer with Unai Emery than I did obviously with Pep, we've got that relationship where it's like a love-hate kind of thing.
"He wants the best of me. He's going to be demanding. He's going to be on top of me non-stop throughout the week, because he knows my capabilities.
"He knows what I can do. He wants to push me, wants to improve me and that's the best way for me. With me and him, it's perfect.
"I may not like it at the time. Maybe, no, I might not agree with it, but I know he's one of the best managers in the world, in my opinion, so I'm going to listen.
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Rogers reflects on rapid rise to the top and picks out 2024 highlights
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"I'm going to take it on board, because I know that it's going to bring positive results, not just to the team, but for myself personally."
After starting his youth career at Villa’s local rivals West Bromwich Albion, a teenage Rogers was spotted and signed by City in 2019.
Although not part of the first team, Rogers recalls his exchanges with Guardiola as positive and highlights how the Spaniard played a vital role in motivating him during his development.
"Unbelievable manager, unbelievable person as well," he said. "The interactions that I had with him were all positive or helped me or wanted the best for me, trying to help me improve and develop.
"I owed him a lot for the time, because I was young coming through and he tried his best to help me."
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Joining the club just after turning 17, Rogers primarily represented City’s Elite Development Squad, comprising mainly players under the age of 23.
Despite his departure after four years which included a series of loans, the player says that his time and education at the club were invaluable.
"At City, it's very much structured," Rogers said. "It's very much what the first team do is what everyone else does.
"You follow in a pattern. When you train with the first team, it's no different to when you train with the younger age group. That's what that club is about.
"It's about the philosophy filtering down and that everyone when it's your time to step up, you've got all the fundamentals, all the tactical awareness, you've got that technical ability to cope and to last in the first team.
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"I didn't quite get to that level to take that step there, but it helped me take that step somewhere else. And those valuable experiences helped me become the player I am."
He added: "There's a load of incredible quality and talent there. So to stick out as one is very hard and only a few have done that.
"It's good for a learning experience, and that's what I used it as, to soak up information, to play around players, and to say that I've got to play and train with some of the best players in the world is something that could never be taken away from me."
The midfielder secured a series of fruitful loan moves to EFL clubs Lincoln City, Blackpool and Bournemouth before joining Middlesbrough on a permanent basis in 2023.
After playing a starring role on Teesside, including helping Boro reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals last season, Villa came calling and Rogers was on the move after just six months and back in the Premier League.
Rogers believes his grounding in the EFL was crucial to his growth and improvement.
"I felt like it was time for me to go and play first-team football somewhere," he said of his decision to leave the City youth setup.
"To go and express myself, to go and challenge myself against grown men in a tough division, to compete for games every weekend.
"It was massive for me. It's not for everyone. Everyone's path is completely different, but for me, it was definitely what was needed. I felt like I needed that next step. I played a lot of my games there. Learned a lot about myself."
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‘Still one of the best teams in the world’ – Rogers wary of wounded City ahead of PL clash
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Rogers is in line for a reunion with City this weekend, with Guardiola’s side in the midst of a poor run having won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions to leave their season in disarray.
Villa look to be coming out of their own slump, ending an eight-match winless run across all competitions with three wins in a row before another setback against Nottingham Forest in their latest outing.
Despite City seemingly being on the ropes ahead of the Villa Park showdown, Rogers is under no illusions about the dormant strength of the champions, and insists Villa will take nothing for granted.
"I suppose it depends on what way you look at it," he said. "Yeah, they haven’t been going through good results or indifferent performances compared to normal.
"But at the same time, they're still one of the biggest teams, the best teams in the world, and we can't forget that they're star-studded from start to finish and even on the bench.
"A few blips aren't going to make us take our eye off the ball and think that it's going to be easier than previous times.
"City are still a tough team to beat, and the teams that have beaten them in the last few games have had to play out of their skin to beat them. So we've got to be no different if you want to try and win."
On whether there is extra incentive in taking on a former club, Rogers, who recently signed a new deal with Villa, insists there are no hard feelings and his motivation is simply looking forward to showing City how far he has come since leaving.
"Yeah, in a positive way, because there's no negative to me not being at City any more," he said of facing his former club.
"I suppose to show what I'm about, to show what I'm capable of, but I try to do that every game, every week. It's an opportunity for me to show what I'm about.
"It would be nice to play against players that I've trained with when I was younger, to show them where I've come from to where I am now. I'm looking forward to it."
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England debut an honour but Rogers vows to keep progressing
On the corresponding weekend 12 months ago, Rogers scored the winning goal against West Brom to move Middlesbrough closer to the Championship play-off places.
Needless to say, a year on, Rogers has experienced a lot to be proud of - including making his International debut - but insists his determination to improve remains.
"Where do I start?" when asked to pick out his 2024 highlights. "Obviously, the first goal for Villa [against Brentford] was big. At the Holte End.
"That was a real experience that I'll always remember. I'll always remember every moment of that move.
"Making my England debut is probably the biggest one for me, though. As a boy, you dream about doing it at the highest level and representing your country.
"So to be able to do that so quickly, in terms of everything happening so quickly, I'm so honoured and grateful.
"Playing Champions League again, massive achievement for me. I don't want it to just end here. I want to keep going. It's just about creating more memories in 2025 and not letting 2024 be the season for me.
"I want to keep going. I want to keep pushing and progressing. So yeah, 2024 was good to me but I want to go again."
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Highlights: Villa denied at the death by VAR in Juve stalemate
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When is Aston Villa v Man City?
Aston Villa will host Manchester City at Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday, December 21.
Kick-off is 12:30 UK time, with live coverage on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+. Coverage starts at 11:00.
How to watch Aston Villa v Man City on TNT Sports and discovery+
TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.
You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media. To find out where your local establishments showing TNT Sports are, use our Pub Finder Tool.
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Stream the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Serie A and more on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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